In a joint effort with U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-New York), Sen. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) is taking aim at “fat cat” corporate aircraft with a bill to increase fuel taxes for private jets ninefold from the current 21.9 cents per gallon to $1.95. Entitling the bill the Fueling Alternative Transportation with a Carbon Aviation Tax—or FATCAT—Act, Markey estimated that the tax increase would be the equivalent of charging about $200 per tonne of a private jet's CO2 emissions. The FATCAT Act would also remove fuel-tax exemptions for logging and oil and gas exploration.
Resulting tax revenue would help fund a newly created Clean Communities Trust Fund “to support air monitoring for environmental justice communities and long-term investments in clean, affordable public transportation across the country—including passenger rail and bus routes near commercial airports,” according to Markey.
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